Coconut Travels: This is Taj, Taj, This is Taj!

Edited: Too many good pictures of the Taj and Red Fort. Have had to move it to another post.

This will be a short and sweet post. Bear with me as I did a lot of shots around the Taj. If you were there or ever go there, you would understand...

We stopped at the hotel to check in and freshen up. It's really hot in Agra (temp was about 35 that day) and it is incredibly dry. We then headed onto the Taj. We had to stop about a kilometere away as Anil wasn't allowed to take the car any further. We then had to take a bus that stopped about 500m away because the bus wasn't allowed to go any further. This was the commercial part of the Taj as there were shops on either side of the street wanting to sell something. We then had to buy our tickets and go through security checks. On a side note, bags are not allowed into the Taj. They have to be either checked into a locker or stowed in your vehicle. Mp3 players, especially ipods are not allowed. You have to pay tons more for a video camera and you have to pay much more if you're a foreigner.

Walking towards the "Side Entrance" at the Taj

Looking back while walking towards the "Side Entrance" at the Taj

Ticket Payment (Non Foreigner) for the Taj

Once you pay for your tickets you have to get through the security check

And Some people hate going through the security checks...

And finally, you start heading towards the main entrance

We then walked along a courtyard and into the gates where I caught my first glimpse of the Taj. Simply stunning. It's white marble bathed in the light of dusk was absolutely breathless. We walked on further and ran into a whole bunch of photographers with cameras twenty plus years older who wanted to take photos of us in front of the Taj. I told them my family already had a photographer and pointed towars my camera. The photographer shut up for a minute and then said "That's a nice camera but with my camera I know how to use it and you should trust me to take your pictures" The bloody nerve of the guy! Anyhow, my parents did end up hiring a guy just to see what kind of pictures he could take of us. The pictures were out of focus, and the Taj was lopsided. Some photographers... they don't even know how to use their manual lenses.

Getting Closer to the entrance...

Ok I'm at the entrance, still no Taj...

There it is! I can see it in the background

The main entrance to the Taj and of the Taj

Finally, in all it's glory!

The Taj Mahal!

and the people...

My attempt at a unique shot of the Taj Mahal

First off impression of the Taj - Incredible. Second impression way too many people here. And I mean this place is packed! It was 2 hours before closing and this was only two thirds of the crowd that is normally here during the day. That's insane!

The gardens were fenced off and you were only allowed to walk along certain paths which were also cramped with too many people trying to take a shot of the Taj. While the Taj Mahal is beautiful it's also the hardest thing to photograph. There's no way you can get a unique shotas you aren't allowed to move around and every popular spot is already packed with people so you'll have people in your shot no matter what you do. Don't let this take away from your experience. If there is one thing I have learned from this, it's to get to the Taj as early as possible and spend your time walking around it

Busy Busy!

Sunset Light hitting the Taj

My Favorite Unique shot of the Taj

Me and my sis proving to everyone we were actually there

Walking up to the Taj

As you get up to the central part of the Taj itself, you have to take your shoes off to walk on the white marble. Each flower in the white marble is made up of 2000 different pieces so that when the moonlight hits the Taj it's absolutely stunning because the marble becomes somewhat translucent and reflects different colors. This I didn't get to see but I sure which I could have. Next time for sure.
Once your shoes are off you are free to roam around the central part of the Taj, but once again people are everywhere so you are never alone.

No more captions, I'll let the photos speak for themselves

We headed inside the maseoleum which you aren't allowed to take photos of. The main part is an octoganal ring and in the center are the tombs of Mumtaaz and Shah Jahaan, King and Queen. Once again it was fenced off so you aren't allowed to get close or touch it, but it wouldn't really matter as these are fake tombs. The real tombs are down below in the catacombs and these happen to be only a replica of the original. It's still worth seeing and to hear the tale of Shah Jahaan and Mumtaaz while you're actually at the Taj adds that much more to your experience.

Each of the pillars has intricate designs

The carvings in the marble

Can you spell tourist?

Entrance into the tomb from afar

We then decided to walk around a little bit and take some photos, but it was already closing time and so we headed back to the Hotel. I'll come back to the Taj again someday, probably with Becca but definitely getting there early morning.

The writing along the walls of the Taj

The color in the walls of the Taj - It's not all white!

The entrance into the tomb

The carvings at the entrance to the tomb

The backside of the Taj

The exit from the tomb

From a corner

Not really sure...

Funky Bird, taking a breather atop one of the Taj Pillars

It's hard to grasp how massive this monument really is

It's just too beautiful to capture

A bunch of teenagers awed by the Taj

The sun is setting fast

Goodbye Taj Mahal

We spent a quick half hour freshining up at the Hotel and headed towards a marlble seller's place. He showed us how he makes white marble and how he polishes it and what not. Beautiful pieces but very expensive and heavy. We didn't buy anything. Next stop was a popular local mall which was being built and brand new. It was just a big department store with cinemas included as well. They even show Hancock in Hindi. I went into the local mcdonalds and tried taking a couple shots of the menu but I was rudely told by a geeky looking kid who reminded me a lot of that kid on the Simpsons who has all the teenage positions that photography was prohibited in front of the counter and in the restaurant.